1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for production of L-phenylalanine by recombinant Escherichia coli (hereinafter "E. coli"). More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel E. coli containing a plasmid for the production of L-phenylalanine and a process for the production of L-phenylalanine by use of the novel microbe.
2. Description of the Prior Art
L-phenylalanine is a kind of essential amino acid and can be used for the synthetic production of ASPARTAME.RTM., a sweetening agent. There are many known methods for production of L-phenylalanine by use of microbes. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-160,890 discloses a method for production of L-phenylalanine by use of Brevibacterium or Corynebacterium sp. which require tyrosine. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-165,797 discloses a similar method by use of E. coli which requires tyrosine and which is resistant to tryptophane analogues. Korean Patent Publication Nos. 89-3680 and 89-3681 disclose a similar method by use of an E. coli strain which is revertant from tyrosine and tryptophan auxotrophy and is resistant to phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan analogues. Korean Patent Publication Nos. 89-3,682 and 89-3,714 disclose methods for production of phenylalanine by recombinant E. coli using amplication of the copy number of a gene which codes for a rate-limiting enzyme.